Is health reform a big deal this election?

Is the health care overhaul causing angry voters to throw the Democrats out?

It depends on who you ask.

If you look at The Washington Post, health reform is the main reason why Democrats are struggling in the midterm elections. Aaron Blake says you only need to look at campaign advertisements for proof-

The proof is in the pudding: while Republicans have been hammering away at Democratic incumbents who voted for the bill and even open seat candidates who expressed support for the legislation, Democrats have run almost no ads playing up the bill.

Blake also cites a poll by the National Congressional Campaign Committee which says “health care” was the most repeated word when voters were asked “What would give you the biggest hesitation in voting” for a Democrat.

But the Kaiser Family Foundation has different results. A recent poll shows that Americans are still split on whether health reform is a good thing for the country, but few listed the overhaul as the most pressing campaign issue.

Asked to name the most important issue in their vote for Congress, the economy tops voters’ list, named by just over a third (35 percent). Behind that are health reform and dissatisfaction with government, each named by 10 percent. In general, voters are twice as likely to say that the direction of the nation as a whole is more important to their vote than any specific national issue (35 percent vs. 16 percent)